Personal training just the right fit
EIGHT years ago, Anna Reich was given a personal training session as a present from her sister. She loved it so much, she realised she fancied a career change — from public relations to the fitness industry. So Anna embarked on a diploma course in f i tness i nstruction and personal training with Premier Training International and then gained further qualifications with the same company, including a diploma in studio instruction.
Recently, Anna, 30 (pictured right), from Bethnal Green, East London, launched her own business, A-PT Personal Training, in Central London. Her new studio, close to Bank Tube station, is used for her personal training and fitness classes.
She says: ‘I was extremely active as a child — Mum says she would look for a pair of feet sticking up when we went shopping, as I’d do handstands in Marks & Spencer.
‘I loved ballet and gymnastics, and always gravitated towards sporting activity.
‘Even when I was 12 or 13, I was taking classes at the gym my mum used. I just loved it, and by the time I was 16, I was lifting weights.’
When Anna, who was then 22, was given the session with a personal trainer by her sister Lisa, she loved it and found it ‘really empowering’.
‘I discovered you could learn so much about your body, and there was a ripple effect. I began to stand more upright and felt stronger and more confident. It made me feel so much better about myself.
‘I was already reading fitness magazines and going to the gym regularly, but that personal session made me see it all in a completely new way. I realised the only thing I really enjoyed was exercise, and I decided I wanted to follow a full-time career as a personal trainer.’
She says that she selected Premier Training International because it offered her what she wanted and she was impressed with its facilities.
Anna, who is also a fitness expert for Simple Skincare UK, says: ‘Exercise is the cheapest, quickest therapy of any kind, and the most effective, for physical or emotional woes.
‘ Whether you become a trainer or not, it will boost your life so much.’